Priyanka Chopra’s Role in “Baywatch” Was Initially Written for a Man
Actress Priyanka Chopra has starred in over 50 Bollywood films, has more than 10 million Instagram followers, and, thanks to roles in Quantico and Baywatch, American audiences are catching on.
In a few short years, Priyanka Chopra has gone from being an unknown in America to one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. A highly-paid actress in Bollywood, she shot to fame here with the television show Quantico, which as it happens, was her first audition. She hasn’t looked back since. Next, she’s starring in Baywatch in a role that was initially intended for a man. “It was without an audition this time, which is great for me because that makes me nervous,” she says. For this year’s Royals portfolio, Chopra was paired with television star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose role on HBO’s Veep is just the latest in a classic television career.
Were you beautiful your entire life? No. I don’t even think I am right now. I just think I’ve found how to be the best version of myself, and that took a lot of years. When I was a kid, especially at like 16, it blew my mind that I won Miss India because I was like the gawkiest teenager. I had no self-esteem. I got really bullied when I was in school in America [for three years], so that crushed my spirit a little bit more. A girl used to say, ‘curry, I smell curry,’ whenever I would walk down the hallways in school, and she would be like, ‘oh, go back on the elephant you came on’ and really weird things. I’m sure it came from ignorance not hatred, because kids are just mean in high school in general. But that’s in retrospect. At that time, it just broke my spirit a little bit, and I told my mom I wanted to come back to India and I didn’t want to stay in America anymore. I’m glad I did because my life happened.
What was your first audition? This is going to some really bizarre, but my first audition was Quantico. I became Miss World [in 2000], so then when I was doing movies in India, I was initially cast because I was in this world. And then in my first movie I won lots of awards and so then I never really looked back. But then, of course, everyone auditions here. That was my first and only audition in my life.
When you were Miss World, what was your talent? I actually sang during my talent round, but I didn’t win. I sang “Saved the Best for Last” by Vanessa Williams. I was really bummed. Some girl twirling things won.
Did you have in your mind to be an actress then? No, I didn’t even know that acting could be a serious profession because I was that Indian girl who sits front bench, always knows the answer, comes first in class, honor student. And I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer. I wanted to study, I wanted to be in NASA, build planes. And it’s so ironic that I just literally live in one now.
How far did you get with school? I did my first year of college in Mumbai and then I just couldn’t [continue], because I started working when I was 18 and was doing about four movies a year. I’ve almost, by now, done about 50.
Did you have a favorite movie? Yeah, Jerry McGuire. “You had me at hello.” She just busted his chops as soon as he said that whole speech and she’s like, ‘honey, you didn’t have to say anything else. You had me at hello.’ It’s so cute.
What movie makes you cry? Every movie makes me cry. “Titanic” made me cry. I cry in “Book of Life”. I cry in “Finding Nemo.” I get really invested in films when I’m watching them. “Star Wars” made me cry. That poor little robot; and he can find his dad! I’m sensitive.
What your favorite love scene in a movie? It could be your love scene. No, I don’t like my own love scenes. There’s so awkward. I hate doing them. They are just awkward, you know. With 500 people watching you and it’s just you got to make it look real and intimate. I hate that. My favorite? It’s really cheesy. And don’t laugh. It’s not a love scene, but Pocahontas and John Smith from “Pocahontas”. It really made me want to believe in love stories that last. I mean, poor John Smith and Pocahontas, having to fight with her dad and say he’s a good guy. When they did “Colors of the Wind” together; to me that was a love scene.
How did “Baywatch” come about? They were speaking to me about [playing] one of the lifeguards in the film “Baywatch” and I had a Skype call with [Baywatch director] Seth Gordon, which was supposed to be 15 minutes and it ended up being 2 hours. The character that I’m playing, which is the antagonist in Baywatch, was written for man, and then he just changed it and thought that a woman would be really interesting and I ended up playing Victoria. It was without an audition this time, which is great for me because that makes me nervous.
The 2016 Royals: Priyanka Chopra, Cindy Crawford, Chris Evans, Kanye West and More
Priyanka Chopra wears Burberry XO Barneys New York dress. Beauty: Burberry.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wears Carolina Herrera dress; Pomellato earrings. Beauty: Nars.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Francelle. Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Irina Shayk wears Prada dress, harness, corset, belt, charm, agenda, tights, and shoes; Bulgari ring. Beauty: L’Oréal Paris.
Halle Berry wears Versace gown; Pasquale Bruni ring. Beauty: Revlon.
Hair by Castillo; by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY; Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Elle Fanning wears Gucci gown; Bulgari earrings; Dior Fine Jewelry rings; Marc Jacobs shoes. Beauty: Gucci.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel;Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Jodie Foster wears Giorgio Armani dress; Harry Winston earrings; Mish New York cuff. Beauty: Giorgio Armani.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Kanye West wears Yeezy Season 3 hoodie and pants. Grooming: Clinique.
Hair by Ibn Jasper at Frank Reps. Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Chris Evans wears Berluti tuxedo; Simon Miller shirt; Tiffany & Co. watch. Grooming: Giorgio Armani.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Kit Harington wears Hermès suit; Vince hoodie; Boss T-shirt. Grooming: Aramis.
Grooming for Harington by Johnny Hernandez at Fierro Agency. Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Ethan Hawke wears Louis Vuitton coat; Simon Miller T-shirt; AMI Alexandre Mattiussi trousers; Church’s shoes. Grooming: Dior Homme.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Rami Malek wears No. 21 sweater; Prada pants, socks, and shoes. Grooming: Chanel.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
New Royalty: Television “When I was a teenager, I was a tomboy and had scars on my legs. But then I taught myself to take care of my body and my hair. It takes time, but if I can do it, anybody can. Today, my legs sell 12 or 15 products in my part of the world.”
Alexander McQueen jacket and dress; La Perla bra and shorts; Harry Winston ring.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Television “I don’t approach my work from a gender point of view. If people are talented, be they men or women or transgender, I’m into it. I want to play ball, and I want to play hard. And if you can do that with me, then we’re going to get along great.”
Oscar de la Renta dress; La Perla bra.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Francelle; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Superhero “In the 6th grade, I played the supporting lead in a play called “Crazy Camp.” I ended up dating one of the more popular girls as a result. The second the play was over, she dumped me. So, at a young age, I learned the power of getting a good role.”
Melet Mercantile T-shirt; Rag & Bone Standard Issue jeans.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Superhero “In Doctor Strange, I play Baron Karl Mordo, the first person to introduce Dr. Stephen Strange into a mystical, weird, and wonderful world. Mordo can transport between dimensions, and I studied quantum physics to understand the science behind his powers. Personally, I would rather be able to make myself invisible.”
Burberry jacket and trousers; Prada sweater.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Model “I hadn’t planned to be a model, but I went to beauty school and was discovered there. My big break was in 2007: the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Being Russian, I never imagined my career would involve swimsuits—I was raised with snow, and warm coats sounded a bit better to me. A swimsuit model has to stay in shape all the time. I love food, even though people think models don’t eat.”
Miu Miu dress, stole, and stockings; ring from Stephen Russell, New York.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Model “I grew up in a small town in Illinois, and I didn’t even know that modeling was a real job. My dad thought that ‘model’ was a nice word for prostitute. I did, however, have Calvin Klein jeans, and I knew about Brooke Shields and Seventeen magazine. That was my introduction to fashion.”
Stella McCartney dress; Curriculum Vitae bra.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Fashion “I have eight older sisters, so I started thinking about fashion when I was very young. I would customize clothes on my best girlfriend—putting together a man’s shirt with a Victorian dress. And, being a classic Leo, I would always give my opinion to my sisters. I would watch them put on makeup, and I’d tell them what I thought, which wasn’t always welcome. Of course, now they all wear my clothes. They are obsessed.”
Tisci’s own Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci sweater.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Fashion “I didn’t mind putting my name on underwear. Jockey had its name on the waistband, so why shouldn’t I? My daughter, Marci, said in an interview that it was strange to have sex with men who had my name on their underwear. I told her, ‘That’s not funny.’ But it is funny—just not when it’s your daughter.”
Klein’s own clothing.
Hair by Thom Priano for R+Co at Garren New York; Makeup by Régine Thorre; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Superhero “The costume for Supergirl is cute, but it’s difficult to put on. It’s not a one-person job: There’s a bodice on top of which muscles are added, because ain’t no way that I am that muscular. And the cape is its own special thing. The costume lives under lock and key. If I wanted to wear it for Halloween, I’d have to stage a mission to steal it.”
Valentino dress; Tiffany & Co. necklace.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Superhero “I loved being Catwoman. I was a gymnast growing up, so I got to use all of those skills for the role. I hated cats going into it, but I learned about the psychology of them—and I came out of that movie a die-hard cat lover.”
Alexandre Vauthier dress.
Hair by Castillo; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicures by Honey at Exposure NY.
Set design by Philipp Haemmerle.
Classic Royalty: Television “On Game of Thrones, there were a couple of weeks when it looked like I was going to die. I thought, Maybe this is it. Then I found out I wasn’t going to die, so I had to keep this massive secret from everybody. I did tell my parents, though: ‘All right, Mom and Dad, you’re in on this now.’ They then went about lying to everyone. They relished it, I think. They’re quite dramatic, my parents.”
Derek Rose pajama set.
Grooming by Johnny Hernandez at Fierro Agency; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Television “I am a troublemaker, for sure. I have a pretty cool scene coming up in Mr. Robot, and I’ve already talked to my makeup artist about bringing something that is not going to go over too well with the costume department: blood. A lot of blood. Our costumes are one-of-a-kind, so I could get into a lot of trouble. But you’ve got to take some risks in life.”
Prada pants, socks, and shoes.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Renaissance Woman “My parents always encouraged us to do what we believed in. There’s a funny interview from when I was 5 or 6 years old: My dad is interviewing me, and my mom walks in and says, ‘You are Wonder Woman.’ That’s one of my most vivid childhood memories.”
Chanel Haute Couture dress; Cartier bracelet; Chanel flats.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Renaissance Woman “I don’t think I’m particularly brave. I’m confident in my opinions about making films, but there are tons of things that I’m really just a child about. For instance, I have a fear of picking up the phone and asking someone, ‘Would you like to have lunch with me?’ Little things that other people learned in Adolescence 101 have always scared me.”
Saint Laurent jacket and trousers; Boss turtleneck; (right hand) Repossi ring.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Independent Film “I was 10 years old, going to a small public school in Palestine, Texas, when casting directors came through and asked kids to audition for a movie. The film was The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick. They saw around 10,000 kids, and I ended up getting the role. I’m 19 now, and I have been acting ever since.”
Prada jacket and pants.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel;Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Set design by Philipp Haemmerle; Lighting technician: Lars Beaulieu; digital technician: Johnny Vicari; photography assistants: Felix Kim, Javier Villegas; fashion assistants: Ryann Foulke, Dena Giannini, Sam Walker, Anastasya Kolomytseva Anita Lau; hair assistants: Adlena Dignam, jennifer kim, dale delaporte; makeup assistants: Tayler Treadwell, Mariko Hirano, Robert Reyes, Takahiro Okada; set design assistants: Theo Volpatti, Ryan Stenger, Valentin Haemmerle, Matt Solis; special thanks to Highline Stages and Spring Studios, New York.
Classic Royalty: Independent Film “I did Born to Be Blue, the story of Chet Baker’s midlife crisis, because it was something I could relate to. I was 18 when Dead Poets Society came out, and that success didn’t leave me far to go. We all like to feel that we’re growing better and stronger and improving every year of our lives, but when you peak at a young age, you have a long way to fall.”
Jil Sander sweater; AMI Alexandre Mattiussi trousers.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Renaissance Man “To me, Will Ferrell is royalty. He is one of my personal gods. I would like Will Ferrell to play me in The Kanye West Story. Can you make that happen?”
Yeezy Season 3 sweatshirt; Hoorsenbuhs necklace.
Hair by Ibn Jasper at Frank Reps; Hair by Ibn Jasper at Frank Reps; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
New Royalty: Society “Growing up, we lived in the Waldorf Towers. My classmates used to call my sister, Paris, and me the Eloises of the Waldorf. If there were events in the ballroom, we were always sneaking in and spying on people. We did everything but order room service. Room service was off-limits.”
Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini cape and dress; Nili Lotan dress (underneath); Chopard earrings; Harry Winston necklace; Chanel Fine Jewelry rings; Wolford tights; Miu Miu pumps.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
Classic Royalty: Society “I have always loved fashion and was lucky enough to live through the era of great couture designers. In the early ’80s, Azzedine Alaïa took a piece of jersey and draped it on me. He then took chalk and marked out the dress on my body. When I received the finished dress, it was stitched where he had placed the chalk marks. It fit like a glove then. Now it fits more like Spanx.”
RR 331 by Ralph Rucci coat and top; earrings from Stephen Russell, New York; Munnu the Gem Palace bangles; Perrin Paris gloves.
Hair by James Pecis for Oribe Hair Care; Makeup by Aaron de Mey at Art Partner; Manicure by Honey at Exposure NY.
